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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29950938">Mal to the Recue/Error Gets Vibe Checked</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NonstopCreatorOfNonsense/pseuds/NonstopCreatorOfNonsense'>NonstopCreatorOfNonsense</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mal's Chaotic Life [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Undertale (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Errortale Sans (Undertale), Gen, Light Angst, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on Tumblr, Underfresh Sans (Undertale)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 00:46:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,628</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29950938</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NonstopCreatorOfNonsense/pseuds/NonstopCreatorOfNonsense</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Template decided to fight Error, and it's up to Mal to find and rescue him before he's reduced to nothing more than dust. Luckily for her, Uncle Fresh is there to help.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Error Sans &amp; Fresh Sans, Fresh Sans &amp; Mal, Fresh Sans &amp; Original Character, Template Sans &amp; Mal, Template Sans &amp; Original Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Mal's Chaotic Life [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2202798</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Mal to the Recue/Error Gets Vibe Checked</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Mal's relationships with the three guys can be a bit confusing without any context, so to kinda simplify that, Error is her biological father, and Template is her adoptive one. And then of course, Fresh is her Uncle :P</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“TEMPLATE? TEMPLATE C'MON, WHERE ARE YOU? TEMPLATE! DAD, COME ON! SAY SOMETHING, <em>PLEASE!”</em></p><p>Mal’s voice ripped through the still, deceptively tranquil night air as she darted between the trees, her multicolored eye lights searching for any traces of her adoptive father. The further she headed into the forest without finding so much as a trace of him ever being there in the first place, her soul sunk deeper into the pit of her nonexistent stomach, and she did her best to ignore the nausea that was slowly creeping up on her. She knew Template was here a little while ago because she could still sense his magic in the air. While she would normally consider that reassuring or comforting, something else was laced into the traces of his magic.</p><p>As her eye lights locked onto a single electric blue thread that’d been caught on part of a bramble bush, she found herself coming to an immediate halt. Template <em>never</em> used threads, so that could only mean… The realization clicked into place and her sockets widened, her body beginning to glitch heavier than before. She began to pace back and forth, muttering lowly to herself, “No, no, no, no. <em>NO</em>. That can’t be… <em>Please</em> tell me it’s not. Oh shit, what do I do now? I can’t call dad because he’s at work, same as Zerif, and then Ink and Dream are busy in the echo flower district. Damn it… what do I do? I can’t… not by myself. I’m not <em>strong enough</em>, and fuck asking the nineties freak for help, no fucking <em>way</em> I’m gonna do that.”</p><p>Thoughts raced in her head and she paused, inhaling deeply before tipping her head back and letting out a shrill scream, her soul now racing within her ribcage. Screaming wasn’t necessarily helpful by any means, but she’d taken to letting off steam that way as to avoid becoming destructive again. She might’ve been that way at one time, but that’s not who she really was. Not anymore, at least. The urge to kill and destroy, to erase everything was always in the back of her mind, and she did her best to ignore and resist it. Even if caused her physical pain, she had no plans to give in anytime soon. The overwhelming cluster of contradictory thoughts in her head slowly faded as she reached a conclusion. She knew what she had to do in order to find Template, and she let out a shaky breath.</p><p>
  <em>This was not going to be fun. <b>Not at all.</b></em>
</p><p>She reached out and snatched the single thread from the brambles it’d become caught on, tightly squeezing her sockets shut. Reaching out with her free hand, she opened a portal, and before she gave herself even a brief moment to reconsider what she was about to do, she leapt through it, clenching her jaw shut as she felt herself begin to fall. Faster and faster she descended, opening her sockets and catching sight of more blue threads. As she plummeted downward into another area of the forest, she managed to catch herself, taking a shortcut. Although she reappeared much closer to the ground, she wasn’t able to right herself in time, tumbling down onto the forest floor. She was quick to get back up onto her feet, her eye lights scanning her surroundings again. Though she couldn’t see much of anything yet, there was significantly more blue threads scattered around her than before, and she sighed softly.</p><p>Mal began to walk again, following a trail of not just Template’s, but Error’s magic. The two were very similar in nature, though one felt friendly and calming, and the other was cold and hateful. She followed the traces of magic for what felt like forever, only stopping as she began to hear an all too familiar glitching voice, “I have to compliment you though! You <em>really</em> had me on edge there! Well, almost.” The teen clamped a hand over her mouth and ducked behind the trunk of a tree, crouching down in an effort to remain hidden. She’d needed a moment to collect herself before she began to very carefully slip out from behind the tree and inch closer to the source of the magic in the air. She remained crouched, nearly crawling, as she moved, listening in as the same voice appeared again, “Those seam trimmers were actually holograms too, right? You trickster! You distracted me by making me run from nothing to deliver a heavy blow yourself. Quite clever!”</p><p>Mal cursed under her breath, pausing and falling silent. A faint glow from the edge of the clearing caught her attention and she cautiously scooted toward it. Immediately recognizing the item that generated the glow, her sockets widened in fear, and she reached out, delicately resting a bony hand on the oversized pen. This… was Template’s pen. She’d recognize it <em>anywhere</em>. If the pen was here, then where was he?…</p><p>
  <em>“But how can I ignore. So. Much. <b>Noise?!</b>”</em>
</p><p>Though it was much weaker than she would’ve liked to hear, Mal instantly perked up, upon hearing the second voice. That was Template! He was nearby, and she was so close to finding him. Template let out a strangled cry of pain and shattered the brief moment of relief that Mal had been feeling. Her figure began to glitch even worse and she trembled, fear overriding her other senses. She wanted to run far, <em>far</em> away, and yet… her feet felt rooted to the ground. Template had cared for her so much, when it felt like no one else did, and he’d taught her so much. She enjoyed his company and had even thought of him as being the father she’d never had, and she’d never wish anything bad upon him. The “anything bad” happened to be Error though, and vivid memories flickered in her mind. With the utmost ease, she remembered the times Error became unstable. She remembered him becoming enraged, and even when she wasn’t remotely involved in whatever soured his mood, she remembered him taking out his anger on her.</p><p>All the broken bones, all the fractures, scrapes, and threats. All the insults, all the bleeding, and all the tears. All <em>her</em> tears, specifically. She was afraid of him without question, and she knew better than to upset him. He had Template though… he had one of the only people who’d ever been truly kind to her and loved her as she was.</p><p>And she wasn’t about to let that slide. <em>No way in hell.</em></p><p>A determined expression settling on her face, she took a deep breath and rose to her feet, her gaze almost immediately locking on the glitchy skeleton who’d caused her so much pain. Blue threads were everywhere in sight, and as she reluctantly tore her gaze away from Error, she noticed some movement and weak, glitching pleas. She shifted her attention to their source and her sockets widened again, her determined expression rapidly transforming into one of fear. Up in the air, tangled in blue threads and suspended in place, was Template. He was glitching terribly at this point, his scarlet sockets were clouded over with errors, and the blue marks beneath his sockets appeared to be dripping. A red bone attack had ripped through his shirt and broke through his ribs, and she could very clearly see it from where she stood. As if he wasn’t in enough pain already, that bone attack and his broken ribs would only make it so much worse.</p><p>Even if she cut him loose, he wouldn’t be able to move on his own. Not in his current condition. She’d have to find another way to get him to safety, but for now, her main focus would be getting rid of Error. If that meant breaking every bone in his body and dusting him, she’d do it with a smile. Centering her gaze on Error again, she scowled. He was going to pay dearly for this little stunt, and she’d <em>make sure</em> of that. Reaching up with both hands to touch the rims of her sockets, blue threads appeared, sticking to her fingertips. She pulled the threads away from her face, gathering them into a large, tightly wound bundle before breaking their connection to her sockets. Once the bundle was free, she pulled her arm back, clenching the threads tightly in her hand. Inhaling deeply, she redirected more of her magic to her clenched fist, a faint blue glow forming around it. As soon as she felt satisfied with the amount of magic she’d redirected to her fist, she hurled the wad of electric blue threads at Error.</p><p>Rather than hitting him directly, the bundle simply landed in the grass beside him, and his body jolted in surprise. Acting on impulse, he whirled around to face Mal, narrowing his sockets and raising a brow bone, almost as if in amusement, “Well hey there, shrimp. That’s quite a greeting you’ve got.” Swallowing her fear and choosing to offer Error a smug smile, Mal shrugged, “It gets better. Just wait.” For a moment, the glitchy black skeleton almost appeared taken aback at the fact that she’d seemed so casual, and he scowled, “What are you talking about?” Mal tilted her head, doing her best to keep her body relaxed, “Since you’re so damn impatient, I guess I’ll go ahead and spoil the surprise for you.” Without giving Error a chance to question her further, she snapped her fingers, causing the wad of electric blue threads to explode. Almost serpentine in how they moved, the threads appeared to gain a life of their own, quickly shooting in Error’s direction. As they began to tightly wind around his body, his sockets widened and he started to struggle, fighting against them, “What the…?! This isn’t normal! What the <em>hell</em> did you <em>do</em> to your threads?!”</p><p>The teen ignored his question, instead lifting an arm, her fingers pointed toward Template. More threads emerged from her sockets and wound around her fingertips before rocketing upward, looping around the threads that were suspending Template in the air. She shouted an apology as another set of threads wrapped around one end of the bone attack that still pierced through his ribs. Although she really didn’t want to be the reason why Template was in pain, her threads quickly yanked the bone out of him, carelessly discarding it by hurling it in Error’s direction.</p><p>The rest of her threads were quick to overtake Error’s, snapping them with ease and lowering Template to the ground. Using a shortcut, her body warped through the space between them until she was by his side. Taking one of his gloved hands into her own, she gave a firm but gentle squeeze and leaned closer, her voice soft, “I’m sorry, dad… I can’t just stand around and watch that bastard do this to you.” Template weakly squeezed her hand back and opened his mouth to respond, but was immediately shushed by Mal, who sighed when she watched his mouth close, “You’re really something else, y'know that? Even though I don’t want you to be left alone like this, I can’t have you here right now. Not when it’s so dangerous.” Although she’d promised herself that she wouldn’t do it, she raised a hand, opening a portal that led to another section of the antivoid which was brightly colored, lit up with neons while various 90s memorabilia lay strewn across the floor or sat in cardboard boxes. A familiar face suddenly appeared on the other side of the portal his gold tooth glimmering as he grinned widely, “Well hey, Sparky! Long time no see.”</p><p>The teen made a dismissive sound of acknowledgement, using her threads to carefully lift Template and move him through the portal, “Yeah, yeah, whatever Fresh. Take Template to Geno and then get your <strike>@$$</strike> back here asap.” Tilting his head as he watched her threads gently set Template down, he arched a single hideous, thickened eyebrow, “What’s goin’ on, kid? What’d you do dis time?” Mal nervously glanced back toward Error, who’d managed to break through the last of the threads that’d been used to temporarily subdue him, before she offered Fresh a weak smile, fear very clear in her eyes, “Fresh, <em>please</em> just do it. I’ll talk more later. I need you to hurry though, because I… I could very well get killed. Take Template to Geno, then come back as soon as you can.”</p><p>Fresh furrowed his brows and frowned, silent for a moment before slipping through the portal to stand beside her, “Nuh uh, no can do, broski. You can take your buddy to Geno yourself, but <em>I’m</em> stayin’ here.” Mal blinked in surprise, momentarily feeling conflicted, “What are you-?” The nineties nightmare wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tugged her closer, and for once, she didn’t flinch or try to get away. She stayed put, looking up at Fresh as he sighed, “Me and ol’ Glitchy here got some <b><em>catchin’ up</em></b> ta do. You should probably dip before it picks up, trust me.” The teen frowned, visibly concerned, “Fine, whatever… just don’t die, ok?” Fresh gave her a thumbs up and grinned, “Hey, no worries, buddy. I’m better at dis den you’d think.” Mal rolled her eyes, flicking a deep blue ecto tongue at him and slipping out of his grasp, “Uh huh, <em>sure</em>. Don’t flatter yourself.” The elder of the two began to laugh and she turned away from him, also smiling slightly as her threads materialized, wrapping around Template’s pen and slipping it into Fresh’s pocket of the antivoid.</p><p>As she began to pass through into the antivoid, something tightly caught her wrist and she froze, looking down at her hand. Blue threads. <em>Oh no</em>. Error chuckled at the fear that overtook Mal’s expression and hummed, “Awe. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re scared of me.” The threads began to pull her closer to him and she frantically attempted to break them and untangle herself. She looked to Fresh for help, her sockets widening further. Fresh was gone. He was nowhere in sight, and for all she knew, she was alone with Error. Almost within arms reach of him, Mal continued to struggle, the threads squeezing harder and beginning to draw blood. Seeing tears pricking at the edge of her sockets, Error smirked, “You are. You’re <em>terrified</em> right now, <em>aren’t you?”</em> Mal shook her head, trying in vain to appear annoyed and disgusted instead of afraid. This earned another deep chuckle from Error, and all her attempts to disguise her fear rapidly withered as she watched his control start to slip.</p><p>It was a painfully familiar sight, and a painfully familiar situation. She’d gone through this before, and never came out unharmed. This time was different though. She tried to fight back, and she even intervened and ruined whatever he was planning. A tear rolled down her cheekbone as she stared at him, visibly terrified. <em>This time, she was sure he’d kill her. </em>And then Fresh’s voice appeared, seemingly out of nowhere as he called out, <em>“Vibe check, big bro!”</em> Error froze upon hearing Fresh’s voice, and he made a face, “What the-”</p><p>There was a loud crack as Fresh’s skateboard broke in half, directly over Error’s head. Error’s threads released Mal’s wrist and he collapsed, deep cracks now running along his skull. Now free of the threads, Mal whimpered, turning and racing toward the portal as more tears dripped down her face, turning into more threads after only a fraction of a second.</p><p>Fresh watched the portal close before looking down at his broken skateboard and Error. Though beating his brother over the head with his skateboard wasn’t part of the plan, something about it felt good.</p>
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